Shareholder return is the mark of a great CEO. Shares of the companies run by this year's top managers have all beat the market during their tenure. From LVMH's Arnault to Lenovo's Yang.

Warren Buffett bluntly tells shareholders in his recent annual letter that if he can't increase Berkshire Hathaway's intrinsic value at a faster clip than the gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 index over a long stretch, there's little point in owning Berkshire stock. A low-cost index fund would be a better investment. As usual, Buffett is on to something, and he has delivered in a big way during 48 years as Berkshire's CEO. His stock is up 8,000-fold, turning many original investors into billionaires.